The purpose of the assessment phase is to determine what needs to be done. It involves gathering and analyzing requirements, assessing the current technology and building a consensus on what's important.

This phase can be challenging because: (1) it is tied to business goals and strategies that aren't always well defined, (2) it involves interviewing users, managers and techies, (3) it establishes priorities, and (4) political and personnel problems are often discovered that must be dealt with carefully.

  Phase 2: Strategic Plan

The Strategic Plan phase transforms "what needs to be done" from the Assessment phase into "how are we going to do it". It is very important because it gives you a road map for the future that includes a vision, architecture and deployment plan.

Developing a vision involves stretching people's imaginations so they can visualize what their IT will look like after the solution is developed and integrated. Once the vision is established, an architecture is designed that gives the vision tangible form. Then, a deployment plan is developed that shows how the technology will be built by defining projects, priorities, responsibilities, dependencies, milestones and costs.

  Phase 3: Development

The Development phase takes the most time and it is the most expensive. It follows the road map developed in the Strategic Plan phase and results in significant improvements to your IT infrastructure.

Decades of experience building IT infrastructures and developing software have made it clear that it is usually best to begin by building a "pilot". The pilot breaks the most important barriers while intentionally ignoring the details. It gives the users a preview of what the eventual solution will look like. It won't have all the bells and whistles, but the most important functionality should be there.

Once the pilot is built, the Strategic Plan will be revised to reflect what was learned. The remainder of the development is normally staged so new technology is released in small increments.

We specialize in deploying Microsoft technologies, including Windows Server 2003, Exchange Server 2003, ASP.NET, IIS, Windows XP and Microsoft Office. We also have a great deal of expertise with Linux/Unix, networking, security and disaster recovery.

  Phase 4: Monitor & Support

The Monitor & Support phase insures the smooth operation of your technology over the long term.

We begin by automating the monitoring of key IT components, such as network devices and servers. Workstations may also be monitoried. Other vital signs are monitored manually. Based on what we learn, preemptive measures are taken to minimize surprises and downtime. We also respond to support requests and track their progress. We also serve as 2nd tier support for organizations that have in-house support staffs.

We have the ability to take remote control of workstations on an as-needed basis, without any setup time or costs.

We minimize the number and severity of support requests by solid engineering work in the previous phases.